AP German Preparation

<p>Hello! I'm taking this exam next year, but I know I need a lot of preparation because my German teacher is awful, frankly. There seems to be a total lack of released tests or review books.
For anyone who will be taking this test this year or next, how are you studying? </p>

<p>I am doing AP German as well, but this year. I am having trouble finding anything about it as well. I can speak German without problems, but I am still unsure how to prepare and what to do.
I am self-studying, so i think i will review the Grammar, since German is very specific with that, and i will brush up my culture knowledge about Germany in general. But other then that i don’t really know how to prepare since there really is nothing out there, or at least i couldn’t find anything like there is for French or Spanish.
What are you doing? </p>

<p>I feel like this is going to be my most difficult AP this year, mostly because I can’t speak or listen very well. I’m too writing/reading based. Also where am I supposed to find stuff that’ll help prep for this? Argh. </p>

<p>@midnightdreary
I didn’t know that we have to speak as well, i thought that we only had to listen.
But what you could to if you wanted to try your hand at listening, search for German stuff on youtube or something similar. You could look for german series, or for american tv shows in german (there are many and if you really have problems understanding what is being said, already knowing the show and the episode might help you catch the meanings better) or if you have an interest in something that you already watch on youtube, look if there is something similar in german as well. That might help you with understanding german better.
Just an idea.
How are you preparing otherwise? Do you do anything specific or are you just going over grammar and things like that?</p>

<p>I am a little nervous about what exactly you should know for the test, since i can not really find anything -other then the College Board site that i don’t really find that helpful to be honest- in how much you have to know. Not only about the grammar and how to write official letters or something like that, but what actually is being asked on the test. For example, how much of an understanding to you have to have about the cultural aspects? Is it alright to just know how most germans live? Or do you really have to know what kind of cultural aspects the different nations in germany have? Because that would be a lot to know all that.
Or is the whole culture aspect of the exam more something that might help you in the writing part of the exam and if you know something that is enough?
I find it really frustrating how little there is to find about the German AP exam. It cannot be possible that so few people take this one, can it? </p>

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Perhaps this information is irrelevant to you because I have had a very different experience with the German language, and I go about it differently, but I’ll try to contribute as much as I can. I’m a high school senior and I’ve been teaching myself German since I was 12 (albeit very inconsistently) and in that time I’ve racked up A LOT of resources for learning the language. I’m relatively fluent now but I had to hit a lot of dead ends to find what worked for me.</p>

<p>Now I understand that AP German is very structured (if my experience in AP Spanish is in any way telling) and probably focuses a lot more on grammatical elements than I do personally. Despite being very thorough I cannot recommend a better reference than Hammer’s German Grammar (link here: <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Hammers-German-Grammar-Usage-Edition/dp/1444120166”>http://www.amazon.com/Hammers-German-Grammar-Usage-Edition/dp/1444120166&lt;/a&gt; ). It’s an excellent book and will last you through college. There’s also a workbook available if you look for it. I would go through the syllabus and hit on all your grammatical weaknesses through this book. Trust me - it’s worth the money.</p>

<p>With vocabulary, I use a site called <a href=“http://www.memrise.com”>http://www.memrise.com</a> . It’s a user-created database so you can either create your own personal wordlist (as I did - with over 1100 words now!) or work with someone else’s. It’s not just a flashcard thing - it’s dynamic, with lots of audio and mnemonics. I can’t really describe it as well as I want to, so definitely check it out.</p>

<p>Best online dictionary is <a href=“http://www.dict.cc”>http://www.dict.cc</a> . They have audio recordings and plenty of idiomatic expressions.</p>

<p>Pronunciation: <a href=“German pronunciation dictionary”>http://www.forvo.com/languages/de/&lt;/a&gt; Type in a word and you have native-speaker articulation at your fingertips.</p>

<p>The best thing you can do for yourself with listening comprehension is just to watch German movies / TV. Most films are still too fast for me but I watch a kids show that I found on youtube from the 70s, called Löwenzahn. The great thing about kids’ shows is that they show the words in context with their meaning with images so you can understand what’s going on. If Löwenzahn is still a little fast-paced for you try EXTRA German, a series made specifically for foreign speakers ( <a href=“null - YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtNrSzeverm1nhwlausema6N2BEd_zINx&lt;/a&gt; ).</p>

<p>For speaking practice I literally just found someone on Skype. There’s a huge thread here: <a href=“Redirecting”>Redirecting;

<p>And finally, for cultural stuff, watch the news. Read, I guess. Talk to people. I’m not as well-versed in this to be honest.</p>

<p>And there you go. This is the way I learn all my languages. Working on Russian and Hindi, woohoo!</p>

<p>All the best!</p>

<p>Wow, thank you so much @Hypocrates for all the incredible resources! There is literally nothing out there specifically made for the AP German exam because a lot of people that take the test are native speakers. I think that is because German is an underrated language, and there isn’t a wide dispersal of qualified teachers in the United States.
Every day I watch the German news using the Tagesschau app. There’s a 15 minute news brief that is great to watch when you’re getting ready in the morning, have some downtime, etc. The words are hard but it’s good to start hearing the language. I would also recommend @midnightdreary watching German children’s shows, such as Biene Maja, Kika, or fairy tale movies (look up Der Froschkonig and go from there) made for children. All of these are available on Youtube if you do some hunting. You could also try watching English shows translated into German like @Dawnie suggested, as it will be easier to know what’s going on (Sabrina the Teenage Witch is on Youtube). However, be aware that because it is translated, it won’t be true German as they often change things to make it fit (like add slang/uncommon words). Listening to German music is also a good way to expose yourself to the language. I like Cro, a German rapper.
Other than that, I will probably use a grammar book to help me out with grammar. My mother speaks German (I’m actually 1/2 German but not that proficient in the language), so I speak with her in German. I will be going to Germany this year to visit my relatives, and while I’m there I’m going to really try to improve my grasp of the language in anticipation of next year.
For culture, I suggest looking at the resources here <a href=“http://sprachfest.org/testingtips.html”>Advantaged Speakers | Sprachfest.org. I also use sets on Quizlet for random culture facts: <a href=“http://quizlet.com/hrumbarg/folders/german-competition”>http://quizlet.com/hrumbarg/folders/german-competition&lt;/a&gt; For more REAL culture, I would get a German skype partner like Hypocrates mentioned.
If you want to practice on the go, Duolingo is a great tool for quick practice, especially for grammar/vocabulary. </p>